Clash by C.A. Harms

talk about it.
    I knew I would have to tell her eventually, but standing in the center of a living room full of people was not the place. Besides, Dylan was in no condition to defend himself, and turning Casey loose on him right now would just be wrong.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
    Dylan
     
    “Damn, Dylan, you look like shit,” Cooper hollered from the couch as I passed by on my way to the kitchen.
    It had been a long time since I got as drunk as I did last night. The aftereffects reminded me exactly why I avoided that shit. My fucking head pounded, and my stomach rolled as I entered the kitchen and smelled eggs frying. How in the hell these guys drank and then woke up to eat that greasy shit was a mystery to me.
    I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. I needed to get some Tylenol into me and quick. When someone slapped the back of my head I spun around ready to deck the fucker, only to find my sister staring back at me with a glare.
    “What the fuck, Case?” I growled as I grabbed the Tylenol from the counter. It was a must around here, and we had bottles stashed in almost every room. “Why the hell did you hit me?”
    “Because you are a douchebag,” she retorted without hesitation.
    “Okay.” I had no fucking idea to what she was referring, but with my condition last night I was sure I popped off and said something shitty to her. “I’m sorry for whatever it was that I said or did to you.”
    “Oh it wasn’t me, you idiot, but since you are too fucking stupid to know when you could have a good thing, someone else stepped in and took your place.” She spun on her heel and walked back in the direction of Seth’s room.
    “Do you mind explaining to me what you are talking about?” I hollered after her, only to be ignored.
    My sister could be a drama queen. She tended to take the smallest things and turn them into something huge. I brushed off our morning altercation to one of those moments and went back to bed. I needed to sleep off this hangover from hell.
     
    ***
     
    I woke a few hours later, and after a long, hot shower I threw on some fresh clothes and finally joined the ranks of the living. As I jogged down the stairs, I made a mental note to go light on the drinking from now on. That shit was not worth it.
    Once I reached the bottom, the front door came open and I felt like I got kicked straight in the nuts. Casey and Seth entered first followed closely by Payton and Todd. Todd had his arm slung over Payton’s shoulders and she was laughing at something Todd had said to her.
    I heard my heart speed up and start beating inside my ears, and the ache in my chest left me feeling winded.
    “Like I said, someone else was willing to fill your spot,” Casey whispered as she walked past me carrying four boxes of pizza.
    Payton didn’t even seem to notice me standing there; she was entirely too busy laughing at Todd. That surprised feeling from earlier was now shifting toward anger at how close he was to her.
    They settled in the TV room and placed the pizzas on the coffee table. Each one found a comfortable place to sit and dug in. Todd chose the seat right next to Payton, once again entirely too close to her.
    “I hate olives,” Todd groaned as he began to pick off the black specs that were buried beneath the cheese.
    “Stop being a baby,” she said as she leaned in and started helping him pick off the olives. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he held up his hand and her lips grazed his fingers as she took the one he was holding. I suddenly felt sick.
    “Well, the two of you sure became close overnight.” The words flew out of my mouth before I had time to think about them. “Didn’t know you were into being fed, Payton.”
    Seth and Todd looked in my direction, and Payton kept her head down. Casey was giving me a look that screamed “get the fuck out,” but I refused to leave. I walked into the room and took the only empty chair. “Mind if I join